Wilsons triple-handed in quest for second Winter Cup
Dennis Ryan - Raceform • August 1st, 2025 2:43 PM • 4 min read
Three years after Bevan and Robyn Wilson claimed their biggest win in the Gr. 3 Winning Edge Presentations Winter Cup, they’re set to return to Riccarton with a three-horse assault on the feature flat race of Grand National week.
That’s three-quarters of the four-horse team the Wilsons train at Ashburton, their Winter Cup trio comprising 2022 winner Lord Darci, his half-brother Victorian Charm and the siblings’ close relation Royal Valour. Completing the Wilson entourage, they also plan to saddle up Lord Darci and Victorian Charm’s half-brother Victor Rouge in the open sprint on the opening day of the carnival.
“We’ve had it in mind for a while to have a go with all three, but we weren’t sure if Victorian Charm would make the field,” Bevan Wilson told RaceForm on Tuesday. “The way it’s worked out with only 16 nominated he’ll get in, so it’s all go.”
Even though able to count their stable numbers on one hand, Saturday won’t be the first time that the Wilsons will have had three runners in the same race. That was also the case in the Oamaru Cup a fortnight ago when Royal Valour scored his third win from his last four starts, Lord Darci finished fourth and Victorian Charm sixth, less than two lengths from his winning stablemate.
That took the Wilsons’ tally to 10 wins from 45 starters over the past 12 months and a grand total of 99 dating back to their first in 1989. So how do they rate their chances of cracking the century this weekend with a second Winter Cup?
“All three of our them seem to have come through their race at Oamaru in good order,” says Wilson, who played eight tests in the late 1970s as All Black fullback, while wife Robyn is the daughter of Racing Hall of Fame member, the late Rex Cochrane.
After his 2022 Winter Cup success, Lord Darci went winless for nearly three years, finally breaking through fresh-up over 1400m at Wingatui in late June. But then he suffered a mystery hock injury on the float-ride home to Ashburton and it was another seven weeks before he was back in competition.
“He’s going into the weekend with only two races in the past year under his belt, but he seems in good shape. The other two are well too – better than me and Robyn you could say.
“We’ve had this bot that’s doing the rounds, but thankfully we’ve got Cheri Trembath helping us and she’s more than capable, so hopefully we’ll be feeling better by the weekend.”
Bridget Grylls retains the mount on Oamaru Cup winner Royal Valour, as does Yogesh Atchamah on fourth-placed Lord Darci, while Donovan Cooper is booked for Victorian Charm. Atchamah will also partner Victor Rouge in Saturday’s open sprint.
